Red Phone: What are new solar panels for?

“I have been driving past the Santa Clara Health Center by the old Walmart. I am curious what that parking lot solar buildings is. It looks like it could light up Gilroy. It is such a big project.”Red Phone: Dear Powered Up, It’s not quite powerful enough to light up Gilroy, but it does pack quite a punch. The solar photovoltaic panels installed at the Valley Health Center at 7475 Camino Arroyo were part of the county-wide project and are expected to save more than $600,000 in energy costs over the next two decades.
More than 3,000 panels were installed there, and 15,000 are scheduled to be installed in nine parking lots countywide by March.
The panels, made by Chinese-based Yingli Solar, also function as covered parking spots. They are expected to reduce the electricity consumed from the electrical grid by 50 percent.
Borrego Solar installed both the 626 kilowatt system in Gilroy and the 377 kilowatt system at Valley Health Center on Tully Road in San Jose.